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jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review
2.0
This one was unfortunately a miss for me - I was so intrigued by the premise, a cartoon diary capturing each day in an everyday life (the author’s life) for an entire year. The idea of celebrating and finding meaning in the intimate and ordinary acts we come across in a day was a great concept, but tracing this over an entire year felt exhausting to read and I admittedly lost focus with it. While this didn’t work for me I have seen a lot of commentary praising this aspect of the book so please do check out other reviews if this book interests you.
While I assume it was as part of the broader picture to capture the true ‘everyday,’ I don’t feel the need to read about people going to the toilet - some people may love that this was included, I felt like it was an overshare that took away from some of the more pressing insights into mental health and relationships and social commentary. I thought these parts of the narrative were great and prompt some important discussions.
It also could be a product of me reading the ebook version, but I found some of the text difficult to read in some of the frames.
While I assume it was as part of the broader picture to capture the true ‘everyday,’ I don’t feel the need to read about people going to the toilet - some people may love that this was included, I felt like it was an overshare that took away from some of the more pressing insights into mental health and relationships and social commentary. I thought these parts of the narrative were great and prompt some important discussions.
It also could be a product of me reading the ebook version, but I found some of the text difficult to read in some of the frames.
kimswhims's review
5.0
I finished this a few days ago and the more I think about it the more I'm taken with it.
A graphic novel memoir with each day divided into 4 panels on the page.
Mandy Ord's work is a bit of an acquired taste, she's an exceptional artist but portrays her own character as a flat-pack Picasso style, 2D but the facial features are mixed-up. A reflection of how she's feeling on the inside perhaps.
She shows herself bumping along in everyday life with all the ups and downs of working in a number of jobs, establishing a satisfying work life, paying the bills and deal with her health challenges. Her lovely relationships with her partner, her Grandma, other family, friends and workmates and her especially her dog Lou, all who I grew to love too.
I was quite entranced and was happy to bump along with her, I could see what was coming so the abrupt ending, that links with the title, hit me like a sledge hammer. Very powerful.
(I'll update this review with some of my favourite panels at sometime in the future, when I'm feeling less tenologically challenged)
A graphic novel memoir with each day divided into 4 panels on the page.
Mandy Ord's work is a bit of an acquired taste, she's an exceptional artist but portrays her own character as a flat-pack Picasso style, 2D but the facial features are mixed-up. A reflection of how she's feeling on the inside perhaps.
She shows herself bumping along in everyday life with all the ups and downs of working in a number of jobs, establishing a satisfying work life, paying the bills and deal with her health challenges. Her lovely relationships with her partner, her Grandma, other family, friends and workmates and her especially her dog Lou, all who I grew to love too.
I was quite entranced and was happy to bump along with her, I could see what was coming so the abrupt ending, that links with the title, hit me like a sledge hammer. Very powerful.
(I'll update this review with some of my favourite panels at sometime in the future, when I'm feeling less tenologically challenged)
alishaaa's review
1.0
Dnf. No plot line or character building of any sort. The art style is not clear, you can neither read the text nor see the visuals. The only good thing is the title.
earlgreybooks's review
4.0
I was really excited to see this on the Stella longlist for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the first graphic novel to make the list—how amazing is that? And secondly, I got to sit with Mandy Ord and watch her draw as a volunteer a few years back at MWF, so it was nice to see her name on the list.
I liked this from the get go. Mandy is incredibly honest and raw. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything and that’s always refreshing to see. This is a really sincere depiction of mental health—you have bad days and they don’t always make sense. This just really reminded me that sometimes things are rough, but you just keep going—I really needed that this week. It’s also really funny. I definitely snorted at this book more than I have at any book in a really long time.
With all of that being said, I didn’t anticipate feeling how I did at the end of the book. I closed the last page and promptly burst into tears. I cried for a good solid twenty minutes, and even as I’m writing this review hours later, I can feel the tears welling up again.
So I guess this is another favourite to come out of this years list.
I liked this from the get go. Mandy is incredibly honest and raw. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything and that’s always refreshing to see. This is a really sincere depiction of mental health—you have bad days and they don’t always make sense. This just really reminded me that sometimes things are rough, but you just keep going—I really needed that this week. It’s also really funny. I definitely snorted at this book more than I have at any book in a really long time.
With all of that being said, I didn’t anticipate feeling how I did at the end of the book. I closed the last page and promptly burst into tears. I cried for a good solid twenty minutes, and even as I’m writing this review hours later, I can feel the tears welling up again.
So I guess this is another favourite to come out of this years list.
avadore's review
5.0
A sweet, funny, and sometimes sad meditation on life. I had a nice little morning routine with this book for the last week of reading a month or two before getting on with the day, and I loved having these little meditations and moods with me as I was waking up and figuring out what the day would be like.
wtb_michael's review
4.0
Over four panels a day for 365 days, Ord shows you life: messy, frustrating, joyous, tired, dull, thrilling life - it's lovely stuff.
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